what are your thoughts on the hc that childe has a breeding kink bc i’ve seen a lot of people hc that 👀
Fun fact, I did partly write about Childe with a breeding kink back in Cinnamon Girl! which you can only find on AO3 bc I despise my characterization of him back then.
The thing with this headcanon is that it feels like one of those that the fandom agreed on only because he has a plethora of siblings, and is probably the character with the biggest biological family; I believe he has at least seven siblings. But it happens to fit his character so well that it might as well have been intentional.
He's not the one to do it fully with the intention of getting his partner knocked up; he's not checking your cycle calendar to make sure he gets you pregnant from the get go.
This man is very good at hiding how fixatedly possessive he is until he is balls deep inside you. And the only thing he is good at in that moment is just to come inside of you as many times as he physically can to make sure you're still stuffed with him by the time he pulls out.
He takes it so seriously that the way he is bending you into a mating press and sometimes even pulling your hips up as he fills you up to make sure nothing goes to waste feels nearly compulsive, like an uncontrollable urge born out of obsession for you he can't help but satiate every time.
The thrill that comes with knowing that he could knock you up is an extra to his main fixation. He is repeating this process at any phase of your cycle; throughout menstruation, before, during, or after ovulation. He does not care to do it exactly or only when you're the most fertile.
Pregnancy being possible at any time after you stopped taking birth control is the russian roulette that tingles his spine in the best way possible when he feels you squeeze him for dear life before he releases inside of you for the first time out of many that night.
All while his hot breath comes out in short, controlled puffs that make your whole body shiver as he lets you know how good you are doing, and how pretty you look, taking all of him like you were made for him and only him.
His voice trembles with barely composed desperation as he does everything in his power to drag himself slowly out of your warm, spasming tunnel with a nasty squelch before slamming right back in, thinking on how even better you'd look once you're growing the baby he placed inside of you; soft, with a curve on your stomach, and unquestionably his, a sight he cannot wait to delight in.
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Your relationship with Childe ended on good terms.
His lifestyle was just not compatible with yours, not to mention his job, and he was not the type to insist you stay somewhere you were clearly not happy at.
You tried, you really did. But you could only take so many months apart and secrecy before reaching a breaking point.
Of course you would miss each other, but it was for the better, and time would be the one to take care of your wounds. He wanted the best for you. After all, that was the reason why he was so okay with this from the start.
So why did the sight of you with another set him back to a point that was not even part of the healing process? A point that revealed the ugly side hidden under all his layers of charm and bravado; the one full of insecurities and unapologetic resentment towards anything or anyone that bested or replaced him where he once proudly stood, even if it was your heart.
Especially if it was your heart.
He justified his unwarranted background checks by telling himself that he was just looking out for you. What kind of man would he be if he just let you go blind into dating the first guy that made himself known?
Were the comparisons he did also necessary? Not quite. But he could not help the derisive scoffs that escaped his lips when he sorted through stacks of information about this new partner of yours, quick comparisons popping in his head to any details that caught his attention in any way. Was he trained for combat? From a family of warriors? He could still humble him in a fight. Smarter than him? Wealthier? As if.
He was not judging your choice by any means. He was just trying to figure out what exactly it was that made you pick him and how on Tsaritsa’s name you could downgrade so badly.
He had eyes everywhere, and power he could abuse for his questionable spurts of jealousy, yet no amount of snooping could answer this question which incessantly tormented his waking hours.
His subordinates would hesitate whenever he asked them for a detailed report about your whereabouts by the end of the day whenever he couldn’t find time to do so himself, as if they were making sure they have not misheard him. This had to connect somehow back to the mission they were currently working on… right?
“...Sir?” They’d ask tentatively. A single, uncharacteristic stare from him reminded them that no matter how many good things recruits said about him, he was still a Harbinger, making them quickly bow and rush to oblige.
The other Harbingers were as equally perplexed when they realized they no longer had to look for excuses or lowly missions to keep him away, for he volunteered to always return to the same region the minute he had no assignments left again and again.
All this time watching you from afar helped him reflect on what could have gone better in your relationship, and he vows to show he has changed for the better once you take him back by the time this new guy vanishes without a trace.
✦ Between sadism and masochism, this man will always lean towards the latter.
✦ He loves and hates his hair getting pulled; loves it because of the way it makes his whole body shudder and tingle his senses, but hates it because it makes him cum faster than he'd like.
✦ Don't overthink or hesitate if he asks you to choke him harder, he means it. Even as his vision starts to blur and it gets tainted by black dots, he is really into edge play and it intensifies his orgasms.
✦ If you're a nervous person, he will constantly reassure you he's been through worse and tease you by saying he's tough to break.
✦ He is as versatile as they come; he will be a cocky service top one day and a bottom brat the other.
✦ Despite all his teasing, he is into being told what to do.
✦ He prefers being a giver rather than a receiver.
✦ He is very vocal; trust there's not a solid minute of silence with him. Either it's teasing comments to try and get a reaction out of you, groans, moans or whines– this man does not shut up.
✦ Insane stamina and endurance. Multiple rounds and marathon sex are not unusual with him. It could be the fifth round and he’d still be going like he just started.
✦ He can ejaculate an unbelievable number of times in a row. He rarely has orgasms without ejaculating when going for too long, but most of the time it keeps coming out like he’s got an endless supply.
✦ Cannot stay still for too long. If he’s the one deciding, he’ll be constantly switching the position and angle.
✦ Does not have a favourite one, but prefers the ones where he has a clear view of you or you’re closer to each other. e.g. lotus flower, missionary, cowgirl.
✦ Average girth, but makes up for it with his 8 inches when soft and 9 inches when hard.
✦ Has crazy patience and self-restraint when he’s in control. Enjoys slowing the pace just to take in your face contorted in a mix of frustration and pleasure; the sound of your whines and complaints is like music to his ears.
✦ Blood kink… (please hear me out)
✦ If his partner can menstruate he loves having period sex with them.
✦ Has come before just from the sound of your voice praising him.
✦ His hydro vision is used during foreplay.
✦ Extremely sensitive nipples.
✦ Obsessed with temperature play if you have a cryo or pyro vision.
✦ He’s a fucking freak, he's up to trying anything you propose or are comfortable with.
✦ Despite all of this, he’d do everything in his power to make his partner feel comfortable during intercourse. 30% of the time he’d rather go slow and be gentler, taking his time and relishing in the shared intimacy.
✦ Most of his taunts have an underlying care in them. Questions similar to “you like that?” are used both as teasing and to make sure you’re feeling good like he is.
✦ Oral fixation!!
✦ LOVESSS kissing you all over, nibbling you, leaving marks, and trailing down your navel before teasingly removing your clothes with his teeth.
✦ Often bites you hard when coming for the last time, staying put in the same position and riding out the high until your breaths regulate and your heartbeats return to normal.
✦ He does NOT play about aftercare.
✦ Lazy conversations as he nuzzles your skin and asks how you’re feeling.
✦ Reverently places soft kisses here and there before leaning up after a while and finally kissing your face and lips.
✦ Let’s you know how much he loves you while you two get cleaned up and does not leave your side for the next couple of hours.
✦ Contrary to popular belief in the fandom, I don’t see him being a playboy or a cheater. He is part of a big family and grew up with lots of love, despite his parents' negligence.
✦ He would 100% date to marry; if he had the opportunity, he would want to prove to himself that he could give his future children the experience of being raised by the caring and attentive parents that he didn’t have.
✦ He also used to watch teen sitcoms with his older sisters while growing up and fantasized about finding the sweetheart for life in high school or college that he would later on marry.
✦ If only it were that easy
✦ What I do see happening is him getting cheated on and having his heart broken a couple of times before you because of his “naive” views on relationships and how easily trusting he is of others.
✦ He isn’t the most popular guy in the frat. He kind of gets picked on a little bit “in a friendly way,” though it is clear most guys are envious of him or just don't vibe with his cheerful personality all the time.
✦ But you can bet he is the most popular in the sorority because of his looks.
✦ He is unarguably the sweetest guy too. He is really athletic and is constantly drowning in extracurricular sports every day of the week, but he still finds time to write you letters to slip under the door of your dorm as you sleep whenever he ends training late at night, and the energy to buy you your usual drink of choice whenever he drops by to see you during the day.
✦ His letters vary from romantic and thoughtful messages to a simple “love you” with scribbles or doodles whenever he feels burnt out physically or creatively, to at least let you know you're always in his thoughts.
✦ And you are. There's a tiny polaroid picture he took of you displayed in his clear phone case. His lockscreen wallpaper is a picture of you. His home wallpaper is a collage of both of you making silly faces with your cheeks pressed against each other. His profile picture is a selfie of the two of you on all socials.
✦ He’s not ashamed of letting people know about your relationship, in fact, he acts like everybody has to know about your business.
✦ Whenever he's in a conversation with anyone about any topic theres random things he memorized about you that, when said out loud, wake him up like a sleeper agent, and all he does is yap about you.
“Dude, we should totally get some food with the team after training. I was thinking about shared pizzas, maybe two meat lovers with a supreme-”
“Oh, [name] hates supreme pizzas, they can't stand the taste of onion and mushroom together, and I always end up picking them out”
”They’re not even coming”
“I know:(”
“???”
✦ LIKE WHO GAFFF(he does)
✦ He cares way too much about the details of yourself you don’t even notice.
✦ You can bet your ass he’s always trying to convince his family to bring you along on family trips or getaways.
✦ He’s the type of guy to get an unserious doodle you did on his arm while bored tattooed.
✦ Some of the sports he does are swimming, hockey (his personal favourite), basketball, football, soccer, volleyball, and maybe lacrosse.
✦ I don’t understand why, because it doesn’t fit with the Genshin lore, but whenever I imagine Childe in a modern au he’s always a trust fund baby majoring in Business.
✦ Despite being seen as a jock, he's really smart and sometimes drops by to tutor you in anything that has to do with math (4 out of 5 times you’ll end up cuddling or watching a movie instead)
[a/n]: sixth Childe post in a row can y'all tell I love him
Summary: your boyfriend attempts to take you on a date, but your brothers couldn't have worse timing.
✽wc: ~1200
✽content: modern/college AU, fluff and crack, Childe being a deer in headlights
✽[a/n]: I <3 Ragbros and the idea of Kaeya being supportive of his sister and his bsf dating while Diluc thinks nobody is enough for her I genuinely could not sleep while thinking about this WYIWNDBJS
Childe liked to think of himself as a confident person. After all, he is the star player of the hockey varsity team and one of the names mentioned the most the day after a particularly rowdy party.
But even he had to admit there was a certain vulnerability in standing in front of your home to pick you up for a date.
In front of the Ragnvindr home.
One of the many Ragnvindr properties.
It’s not like his family was poor or anything, far from it. But their name was certainly not found on the luxurious dark bottles praised worldwide.
His hands felt clammy as he tightened his grip on the bouquet he was stiffly holding, mentally trying to revive the charisma everyone knew him for.
The seconds passed painfully slowly as he considered what to do. Would it seem ungentlemanly to just text you? I'm at the door, perhaps? He shook his head. No, he should just man up and knock already. But what if you didn’t hear all the way from the second floor? He could ring the doorbell instead. But what if your father answered instead? An informal first meeting and conversation with Crepus would be humiliating at the very least, especially in his current state. He’d rather be extra prepared for that when the moment finally comes. Would he ever be prepared, though? Did all this stalling even make sense when his reasoning had no meaning? He could just wait in the car, where it’s safe from all the unfamiliar doubts that were eating at him. He really could—
Ding
He fished out his phone from his pocket faster than he ever considered possible and felt a warm sense of relief fill his chest when he saw it was a text from you: “Look up ;)”
He promptly obeyed, raising his head and looking to the sides of the manor until he met your eyes as you looked down at him from your balcony at the right. A soft smile spread on his face, and he raised his eyebrows, trying to sound as casual as he could manage when greeting you with a “Hey.”
You smiled at the sight of him, the sound of his voice enough to make you giddy. “Give me another 5 minutes and I’ll be right there.”
“Take all the time you need, gorgeous.” He winked. You rolled your eyes and walked back into your room to get ready.
He took a deep breath of the fresh air, feeling considerably calmer now that he’s seen you and his main problem was solved. All he had to do now was just wait and be patient. He could surely do that.
Yeah, of course he could. And when you finally come down, he will kiss you and open the passenger door for you, you’ll tell him he’s the best boyfriend ever, and the date will proceed without a hitch.
He couldn’t believe how silly he was being by overthinking moments prior; there’s absolutely nothing that could go wrong now.
The door handle suddenly turned and Childe stiffened at the foot of the stairs, his eyes darting to the mahogany door as he watched it open with dreading anticipation until he finally saw Kaeya, who leaned on the doorway with the most irritating smirk ever. He took in Childe’s put-together appearance and finally the flowers he was tensely holding.
“Ohoho, for me? You shouldn’t have.” Childe was used to Kaeya’s usual smooth, teasing voice, but with the current situation, it just translated to an unavoidable headache.
“Kaeya, I really don’t need this right now,” He grumbled, leaning back on the iron railing and using his free hand to rub his face.
“Oh c’mon. From where I'm standing, it doesn’t look like you’re up to much,” Kaeya retorted, nearly smiling from ear to ear. “Is she making you wait this long?”
Childe sighed. You hadn’t revealed your relationship to either of your families yet, but if anyone was going to find out, it was going to be his best friend.
“She said she’ll take less than 5 minutes.” He informed.
“Make it 20,” Kaeya countered, crossing his arms in a relaxed manner. Childe’s composed expression faltered. “Relax, I’m kidding,” Kaeya smirked, waving his hand dismissively.
“Funny” Childe deadpanned, “Don’t you have stuff to do?”
“Now that you mention it, I should be getting some papers from father’s office for Diluc” He mused, as if thinking, “But watching you sweat through your shirt is way more fun”
Childe wasted no time in anxiously looking at his armpits, trying to look for any stains, only stopping when he heard Kaeya snort. He sent a glare his way.
“I’m sorry, alright?” Kaeya said with no hint of honesty, his hand on his stomach as his laughter died down. “You look fine, don't stress too much” he reassured. Despite finding it amusing how uncharacteristically jumpy he was, the last thing he wanted was for Childe to go on a date with you while filled with insecurities.
To be completely honest, Kaeya felt like this was the best outcome he could think of. Now that his suspicions of you two dating had been confirmed, he couldn't help but be relieved that you chose to date someone whom he knew well and approved of. Not to mention you were two of his favorite people.
“Nice hair, by the way” He added, making Childe absentmindedly touch the soft orange strands he took extra time on, murmuring a thanks.
“There you are.” Diluc’s monotone voice suddenly cut the conversation, his footsteps heavy under the polished floor as he walked towards Kaeya. “Could you explain to me why you’re standing here while I was waiting for the reports? Adeline had to step in and do it herself. The simplest of jobs and you still—” The redhead’s rambling came to a halt once he came to view on the doorway, noticing Childe standing at the bottom of the stairs. His crimson eyes glanced back and forth between his brother and the ginger before landing on the bouquet.
“...You’re dating Kaeya?” Diluc asked, nearly unbelievingly.
Before anyone could say a thing, your steps broke the silence as you made your way down the stairs. “Sorry for the long wait.” You apologized with an ounce of sheepishness, walking past the two guys at the door and making your way straight towards Childe, taking the flowers and embracing him. He could barely hold you back as Diluc’s eyes pierced his, nearly making all the muscles in his body freeze in place.
“You’re dating my sister?” Diluc’s voice wasn’t hesitant this time. It was cold and low, hardly a question and more like an accusation of a heinous crime.
You ignored Diluc and pecked Childe’s cheek after pulling away, grabbing his hand, and pulling him to the car, knowing he wouldn’t find the courage to break eye contact with Diluc on his own.
Childe awkwardly waved at them while making his way into the car right after you did, trying not to look at Diluc’s astonished expression for too long.
“You knew of this?” Diluc demanded, and Kaeya only snickered as he held the door to avoid falling by how weak he was turning from all his laughter.
Childe might’ve escaped his wrath today, but he knew he would be doomed the moment he stepped on the ice next practice and felt the pucks “accidentally” hit him over and over with suspicious accuracy.
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⟡ [a/n]: for @fairexy78 bc our periods synchronized and we literally went "how can we make this about Childe"
(Divider by: @saradika-graphics)
⟡ The first time you bled out on his sheets after sleeping over was a huge mishap on your part. You could have sworn your period was supposed to come three days later. You were absolutely mortified as you apologized profusely at the sight of his pristine white blankets stained with huge blood patches, blaming yourself for not being more careful.
⟡ Only for him to calmly gather them for laundry like he normally would and get you a clean change of clothes, pecking your forehead before reassuring you it was no big deal.
⟡ You went from being ashamed to being embarrassed for making such a big deal over an honest mistake. You were also confused at how eerily calm he was. You knew he had sisters and knew more about this than any other guy would, but the way he handled it almost made it look like he was prepared for such a spontaneous thing.
⟡ The next time you come over, you find a whole drawer stacked full of period products in both of his bathrooms, some you didn’t even know existed, some you didn't even use. Pads, tampons, liners, reusables. Wings and no wings. Scented and unscented. You name it.
⟡ It makes you feel like you’re scrolling through catalogues of options. You should probably give him a small talk about overconsumption, but his heart is in the right place.
⟡ He would be the type of guy to have that cycle calendar app on his phone that's connected to his partner’s.
⟡ The first day without fail he always makes a soup of either seafood, red meat or tofu based on your decision so you can load up on iron.
⟡ You literally wake up to him in that damned “kiss the cook” apron.
⟡ If you get sweet cravings, you’ll just have to tolerate this small inconvenience because he is not budging on this.
⟡ If, for whatever reason, you aren’t together, the second you make the most indirect hint at not having eaten yet over the phone, you’ll find yourself receiving takeout he ordered for you.
⟡ His long and warm hands are a blessing to massage mild cramps away. Whether the pain is in your stomach or back, he is already preparing essential oils that he knows will relax your muscles.
⟡ Tries his best to make your couple of days of hell as stress-free as possible. He completely understands why you’d be “moody” and annoyed during this period. He literally apologizes for breathing wrong whenever you snap at him, and is buying you flowers and snacks immediately after to not feel useless.
⟡ Which then makes you feel extremely bad for acting as you did earlier to the point that you tear up by how nice he still is to you and how you “don’t deserve him”.
⟡ The sight of you crying immediately agitates him as he tries his best to comfort and reassure you by saying he doesn’t mind.
⟡ You feeling bad makes him feel bad, and suddenly the two of you are crying.
⟡ He bought you different types of heating pads to accommodate your every need and mood, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t prefer it whenever you sought him out and used his body warmth instead.
⟡ He’s also an opportunistic bastard who uses it as an excuse to insist on keeping you in bed with him because the cuddles help ease your pain.
⟡ Likes to rest his head on your stomach with his ear right next to it. It somehow relaxes both of you to sleep.
⟡ He does not tolerate it if you’re one of those people who attempt to tough out your cramps instead of taking your painkillers. He’ll wrestle and force-feed them to you if so it must be.
⟡ He is also very rigid when it comes to the time you take supplements if you take any.
⟡ He’s not a squeamish guy and doesn’t mind having period sex if he knows it will help with your pain. He tries to act normal like he hasn’t been actually waiting for this moment.
⟡ Won’t bring it up because he doesn’t want to make you uncomfortable, but the moment you so much as suggest oral while you’re bleeding, it doesn’t take long to have his face already buried between your thighs as he greedily laps up the combination of blood and cum and diligently works to tear another orgasm from you.
⟡ He is definitely doing this just to help your pain and would totally not die between your legs if he could.
𝜗ৎ[a/n]: For anon! (Dividers by @sisterlucifergraphics)
𝜗ৎGirl dad!Childe, who has a daughter who is the exact carbon copy of him despite his genes being supposedly recessive.
𝜗ৎGirl dad!Childe, who can recognize the glimmer in his daughter’s eyes that he once had at her age whenever he reads her to sleep with the same stories his father used to tell him, and vows to himself to do everything in his power never to let that light go out.
𝜗ৎGirl dad!Childe, who's not entirely new to this after growing up with many sisters and always insists on being the one to do his little girl’s hair. He carefully brushes her soft hair before gently gathering it and braids it with practiced skill, purposefully lasting longer than he should to savour the feeling of caring for a child of his own after years of doing it for his siblings.
𝜗ৎGirl dad!Childe, who despite being a proud father, also wishes to be respected by his colleagues since he is the youngest one out of the few and feels he has more to prove, so he buys only peel-off nail polish for his baby to have all the creative freedom she wants and for him to be taken seriously during his job.
Zandik is not allowed to touch her with a ten-foot pole.
As a matter of fact, none of the harbingers besides The Rooster will be informed of her existence (they will still find out somehow)
𝜗ৎGirl dad!Childe, who seamlessly embodies the character his daughter wants him to roleplay as because of his experience with joining public theatrical plays in the past. Is she asking for a knight? a pirate? a magician? She has all in one.
𝜗ৎGirl dad!Childe, who pauses whenever the tale he is reading to her involves a charming prince or a knight in shining armor, and makes up the rest of the story himself before making sure there is no other book in her library that could make her think she needs a man to save her or depend on that is not him.
𝜗ৎGirl dad!Childe, who swears he won’t baby her or buy her whatever she wants after you told him she has to learn she can’t have everything she demands, yet somehow you find a princess themed vanity table in her bedroom the next day, where he is sitting patiently while she practices makeup on him. How did that get there?
𝜗ৎGirl dad!Childe, who does everything in his power to come back sooner from his travels and never returns empty-handed, for either you or his daughter, who has a collection of different toys and jewelry from all nations by the time she is 5.
𝜗ৎGirl dad!Childe, who constantly thanks the Tsaritsa for such a blessing, for being able to build a family and be happy despite having blood on his hands. For having a beautiful daughter who brought order and purpose to his chaotic life.
𝜗ৎGirl dad!Childe, who despite seeing his daughter as his biggest blessing in life, also gave him an unfamiliar sense of vulnerability as he realized he had more to lose. Who struggles to fall asleep and sometimes spends hours sitting on the rocking chair in his daughter’s nursery, observing his princess peacefully sleep in her deer onesie to reassure himself that she is still here, and anybody who would dare lay a finger on her would be a dead man.
⟡ Summary: You never asked for much in your life. All you wished for was just for Ajax to come back to you safely, even after you came to the dreadful realization that it was not his decision to make.
⟡ wc: 1.4k
Nights in Snezhnaya were incredibly cold, colder than usual without your dear Ajax, who had been gone for the last four months. A relatively short time compared to other missions of his.
Sometimes he was gone for two weeks, sometimes he was gone for a year, but you never knew how long he would be gone whenever he left. You just had to pray he’d come back to you as soon as possible as you watched him depart.
You forgot at what point you started praying for him to come back to you at all.
Maybe it was when all of Snezhnaya mourned Rosalyne in some way after her sudden, tragic death. When there was a sort of silence between the grown-ups at the table in Ajax’s home when he came back from her Funeral at the Zapolyarny Palace.
The kind of silence that doesn't carry only sorrow, but also gratefulness for being here and still having your loved ones at arm's reach. The kind that lingers after a tragedy and makes people aware of their mortality.
Or perhaps it was when news about the first Harbinger stopped coming in. When even the Fatui was unsure of Capitano’s status, something that hit Ajax particularly harder than anyone else.
You were never the type to question Ajax’s strength, especially after seeing him in battle with your own two eyes. Yet how big were the chances that such misfortune could not happen to him when it happened to the one who was at the very top?
But the moment you knew you started consciously praying for his safe return was after Pulcinella informed you of Columbina’s disappearance and Sandrone’s lifeless body being returned to Fontaine during one of his weekly visits.
Even as your lover currently slept right next to you, safe and sound, you still felt the coldness of not having him next to you, for you realized he was never yours. Since the moment you met, he was just a pawn in a war bigger than him. A means to an end waiting to be discarded like the others. The thought filled you with trepidation as you stared at his peaceful, resting face, an extreme contrast to the thoughts tormenting your mind.
You wondered if his loyalty to the Tsaritsa ever faltered, if he ever questioned her at all before carrying out her commands, or if his loyalty was truly blind. You wouldn’t have permitted yourself to doubt her Royal Highness— not before any of this, no. And yet, you still felt a sick sense of aversion towards the doubts that plagued your mind, born out of common sense. As if your mind yearned for the comfort of familiarity, of what you believed your whole life, that the Tsaritsa was a benevolent soul, that she declared war with the purpose of peace.
Did his mind do the same whenever he was out on the battlefield? Did he ever contemplate the idea that he could fall just as easily as the other pieces lying on the chessboard? Or did he come to peace with the knowledge that an early grave was inevitable? That each death of his comrades was like a ticking bomb, slowly approaching him—
“What are you doing awake?”
The sound of his voice abruptly pulled you out of your bleak train of thoughts, and your gaze snapped to focus on his half-lidded azure eyes in the darkness of the night as they scanned your face in concern and confusion.
“Can't sleep,” You mumbled curtly, attempting your best to hide your inner turmoil as you felt his arms pull you closer to him like it was a second nature.
He hummed drowsily in acknowledgment, his eyes taking in your face for what felt like minutes to you before he finally leaned in, nuzzling your neck and making you let out an inner sigh of relief. You knew he noticed something was up. He always does, but he wasn’t the one to force it out of you at ungodly hours of the night.
“...Then I’ll stay awake with you.” The warmth of his breath against your skin exposed to the cool air made you faintly shiver, and a small smile painted your lips.
“You sound like you’ll fall asleep at any moment.” You whispered, your hand making its way to the curly hair of his nape, feeling how he immediately melted against your touch in response.
He pressed a gentle kiss against your jaw. “I won’t.” Ajax was not the type to tire out easily, but in the rare moments he did, you knew rest for him was long overdue.
It was clear he was fighting against sleep by the slurring of his voice— if only to not leave you awake alone in the middle of the night. It was a small thing, but the way he always tried to put your comfort first still made your heart flutter after all this time.
A feeling that you could lose at any given time the moment he slips up.
“Everything alright?” He murmured against your skin, suddenly breaking the silence that had become nearly somber, as if your anxiety was seeping out of you and staining the serenity around you like a miasma of misery and hopelessness despite your efforts to suppress it. You realized it was your heartbeat that was giving you away.
“Yeah, I…” You try to piece your words together in an easier way to digest, in a way that won’t expose all your worries to his trained ears. Your hands moved from his hair to his shoulders, gently rubbing them as you let out a long sigh to mollify your mind, “Have you ever thought of just— quitting?”
Your voice is quiet when you throw that vague question at the void, so quiet that you nearly hope he did not hear you at all.
But nothing could ever go your way, as you felt his shoulders tensing under your hands after your words finally settled in, and suddenly becoming immune to your soothing touch.
“...Where is this coming from?” He asked softly despite the tension your words provoked in him, not even pulling away to look at you.
“Nowhere in particular,” you reply almost too quickly, and incredibly grateful he could not look at your expression that could easily reveal the gears actively turning in your head. “I just wanted to know if you… see yourself doing this forever?” You attempt to salvage, yet ‘forever’ felt like a terribly generous word considering the recent events in the organization. A more accurate word would be till death. And a possibly early one.
You started to overthink whether he was upset or was avoiding your questions and the clear implication that came with them after his couple of seconds of consideration stretched for too long, until you finally felt him let out a heavy sigh. You hated yourself for even bringing this up. You hated yourself for putting him in this difficult conversation when he was probably already going through a lot worse.
By the time he ultimately pulled away just enough to look at you, his expression wasn’t conflicted or upset, but concealed under a mask of neutrality. “You know I have to do whatever it takes to serve the Tsaritsa,” he said, clearly trying to be as straightforward as possible, making all your hopes instantly crumble to dust in the process.
Even when he reached to cup your cheek and redirect your drifting gaze to him, you couldn’t help the lingering disappointment of the answer you should have expected from the very beginning. “And I’ll do what I have to do to return to you,” he added, his eyes trying to find a glimmer of trust in yours as he tenderly rubbed your cheekbone with his thumb despite his earlier tension. “You know that, right?”
All you did was nod.
“Don’t forget that,” he murmured in approval, leaning in to press a firm kiss against your temple before pulling you closer again. “It’s not worth losing sleep over.”
As you succumbed to his familiar embrace, you were now painfully aware that being in his arms was not as safe as you remembered it to be, and your little bubble was more exposed than you could have ever thought.
You didn’t wish for him to promise to come back to you. You could never allow yourself to make him carry the weight of such an uncertain promise, which was not in his, but in the hands of fate to decide.
And if your fate was to watch him depart again and again, waiting endlessly for his return, you would do your best to enjoy the love you share with him before devotedly standing in front of a Harbor every day, just to wait for another piece of you to safely return to your arms.